Contents Executive summary 2 Methodology 4 Regional assessment—themes 5 Additional Trends 7 1. The expansion in Private Security Companies (PSCs) and Resource Extraction Companies 7 2. Private Maritime Security Companies 9 3. Illicit Brokering 10 4. Casinos and Criminal Deportees 11 5. Additive Printing 11 Country assessments 13 Solomon Islands 13 Fiji 18 Papua New Guinea 21 Samoa 29 Regional policy recommendations 30 Conclusion 31 Acronyms list 34 Illicit Small Arms in the Pacific ACMC 1 Executive summary With the exception of Papua New Guinea, the number of illicit small arms1 likely to be in circulation in Western Pacific island countries is not particularly large or widespread. The region remains relatively ‘gun free’ as Philip Alpers’ recently proclaimed.2 Supply is not bountiful, controls in the form of regional and national laws are sound, disarmament and amnesties have been somewhat successful, and demand is neither strong nor state or region-wide—Papua New Guinea being the exception. In broader context, the Pacific Institute for Public Policy points out that: The Pacific has seen its share of coups and conflict, but deserves recognition for being a largely peaceful region … It also has a wealth of traditional mechanisms to end conflict … It is worth bearing this in mind as the region develops a more ‘bottom-up’ approach to contemporary security issues.3 The project conducted a strategic assessment, rather than a detailed stocktake, of the illicit small arms in the Western Pacific island region with a focus on Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (excluding Bougainville). As anticipated, most of the illicit small arms in the region come from within the countries studied and are largely recirculated within them. However, there are pockets where weapons transgress borders, but this is not particularly organised or substantial. There are also trends with new weapons entering the region, but these are mostly imported by or with the knowledge or approval of the national governments. That makes illicit small arms in the Western Pacific island countries less of a transnational problem and more one for national governments. There are also five additional region-wide trends linked clearly and potentially to small arms proliferation. They were outside the scope of this project, but are worth bringing to attention and they are discussed briefly in this report. International organisations and national non-government organisations (NGOs) have been at the forefront of activism and information on small arms in the Pacific. Yet after more than a decade, the Nadi Framework and Goroka Gun Summit, both grand initiatives, remain largely dormant. In part, this reflects the reality that many illicit small arms—firearms essentially—are sourced from inside the country in which they are used, and recycled multiple times within it, and that the security sector has 1 For definitions, please refer to the author’s earlier report to the ACMC, ‘Illicit Small Arms in the Pacific: Cause for Concern?’ Australian Civil-Military Centre, https://www.acmc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Stephanie- Koorey-Illicit-Small-Arms-in-the-Pacific-Cause-for-Concern-2.pdf. Essentially the terms ‘small arms’ and ‘weapons’ are used generically, and ‘firearms’ used where appropriate to refer to specific small arms. It does not include bladed weapons. 2 Philip Alpers, ‘The Pacific Region Lives Up to its Name with Disarming Success’, The Conversation, 27 February 2015. 3 Pacific Institute of Public Policy, ‘Keeping the Peace: Rethinking our Approach to Security Issues as New Threats and Opportunities Emerge’, Discussion Starter, 26 November 2014, p. 1. 2 ACMC Illicit Small Arms in the Pacific been, or remains, both a source of supply and driver of demand. This is particularly so for the Royal Papua New Guinea constabulary. The problems with illicit small arms in the Western Pacific are indicative of societal and governance problems and should not be seen as an isolated phenomenon. As such, this report cautions against any isolated firearms ‘fetish’ 4 responses, or for the issues raised to be seen solely as ‘a gun problem’. As Wondemaghen noted, fears generated by media stories of armed violence ‘generates a temptation to reach for simple, often punitive solutions to multi-faceted complex problems’.5 As such, this report makes suggestions regarding illicit small arms control and broader, societal factors that may mitigate demand in the three focus countries. The research indicates tangible factors are a strong driver of demand and that the ‘motives and means’ 6 hypothesis holds true. Small arms, mostly firearms, are sourced for personal or property protection, to participate in tribal fighting, to perpetrate crime, to coerce and influence political activities, but not to create state-wide conflict or coup against an extant government. In parts of Papua New Guinea there appears to be a constant overt demand for firearms, for both the tangible reasons listed above, as well as the more intangible predilection towards wanting firearms for the status they bestow on the user. However, this avenue of research could not be confirmed in this project. Conclusions that can be drawn from the research are that the hallmarks of the region are overt demand and supply in Papua New Guinea, reduced and low demand in Solomon Islands and Fiji, and internal supply, including the skills to build home-made firearms. Finally, the relationship between the civilian legal market of sporting and recreational shooters and the illicit market is emotionally potent. Globally and regionally, civilian stocks are leaked onto the illicit market. However, the position of this paper is that the Pacific sporting shooters are an informed and engaged stakeholder in small arms control, and that in many cases ‘providing a path to legal firearms possession’, including its safe storage and use, can be one element of effective small arms control.7 4 As explored in the Literature Review to the Australian Civil-Military Centre, January 2015. Unpublished. 5 Meron Wondemaghen, ‘Media Construction of a School Shooting as a Social Problem’, Journalism, Vol. 15, No. 6, 2014, p. 708. 6 As explored in the Literature Review to the Australian Civil-Military Centre, January 2015. Unpublished. 7 Personal communication, New Zealand, 15 August 2014. Illicit Small Arms in the Pacific ACMC 3 Methodology This research project was a case study investigation of the supply and demand of illicit small arms in Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea excluding Bougainville. As with many works on illicit small arms, quantitative research and verifiable facts are rare. The subject matter is inherently sensitive, and as David Capie noted, ‘[a]rms traffickers do not usually grant interviews or otherwise seek attention’. 8 An additional problem, particularly in Papua New Guinea, is the marked absence of verifiable facts and statistics, including for loose or illicit small arms. The president of the Shooting Association of Papua New Guinea stated in 2005 that ‘[i]t is an unfortunate fact that NO credible statistics on the number of illegal firearms in the country exist’. 9 A decade later, this is still the case. More than one interviewee in Papua New Guinea commented on the country-wide dearth of data. The data that is available, including its collection, verification and aggregation, was noted by the World Bank’s 2014 Trends in Crime and Violence in Papua New Guinea report as highly problematic.10 As such, this research sought to capture trends, and verify assertions where possible, in order to provide a contemporary strategic assessment of illicit small arms movements in the Western Pacific countries outlined above. It was a qualitative, rather than quantitative, research project; however, quantitative research in this area would be welcome to provide much needed data. The project gained Human Ethics approval from the University of New South Wales Canberra to which both the author and the project’s adviser, Honorary Associate Professor Stefan Markowksi, are affiliated. All participants were offered the approved ‘Participant Information and Consent Form’. Interviews were coded and at the request of all participants, non-attribution adhered to. Serving Australian Defence Force personnel were not formally interviewed as this would have required a separate ethics approval process that is notoriously slow. In terms of method, it followed the snowball sampling technique using semi-structured interviews. The author is extremely grateful to all those who gave their time, knowledge and insights to this project. These people were in Australia, New Zealand, in each of the focus countries of Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea (excluding Bougainville), and the late addition of Samoa. Over 70 people were interviewed formally and informally. The project also referred to recent literature, both black and grey, and to media and other primary sources, all of which were used to verify or bolster assertions. The author is grateful to have been granted access to the document library database hosted by the Norwegian Institute for Small Arms Transfers. 8 David Capie, Under the Gun: The Small Arms Challenge in the Pacific, Victoria University, Wellington, 2003, p. 19. 9 Mel Donald, ‘PNG Gun Summit Presentation’, July 2005, p. 4. Emphasis in the original. 10 Sadaf Lakhani and Alys M Willman, Trends in Crime and Violence in Papua New Guinea, Paper No. 1, The World Bank, May 2014, pp. 20–21. 4 ACMC Illicit Small Arms in the Pacific Regional assessment As put forward in this author’s preliminary paper for the ACMC,11 this project was based around five themes: 1. the dynamics of illicit small arms movements—where they are going to and where they are coming from 2. weapons numbers—noting that even small numbers of small arms can be destabilising and that numbers are estimates, not definitive 3. weapons types—to ascertain likely sources, intent of use and firepower 4.